Nov. 19, 2009

This season, the West Coast Conference women's basketball programs will be participating in the third annual Pack the House Challenge, a national effort in which conferences and institutions compete to build attendance. One winner from each of the 31 conferences and one from a group of independent institutions will be named. Selections are based on marketing plan creativity and attendance criteria. The NCAA will award prizes and donate money to the nonprofit organization of each winning institution's choice. All fans in attendance will have a chance to win prizes.

The WCC is one of seven conferences to have all of its member institutions participate in each of the three years the program has been around. In all, 276 NCAA Division I schools have signed up, which makes up about 80 percent of all DI schools that sponsor women's basketball, and each of the 32 conferences are represented.

Last season, Gonzaga was the winner out of the WCC and was one of 72 schools from across the country to break its single-game home attendance record in its Pack the House game. The Zags had their first sell-out ever for a women's game when they hosted the Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Below is a list of all the upcoming Pack the House games WCC schools will be participating in.

SCHOOL                        DATE                OPPONENT
Gonzaga University            November 22, 2009   Washington
Loyola Marymount University   January 23, 2010    Gonzaga University
Pepperdine University         January 21, 2010    Gonzaga University
Saint Mary's College (CA)     January 28, 2010    Pepperdine University
University of San Diego       November 14, 2009   UC-San Diego
Santa Clara University        February 4, 2010    St. Mary's College
University of Portland        February 6, 2010    Gonzaga
University of San Francisco   December 22, 2009   University of Tennessee